1952 April.pdf - God's Generals

f OF ’
THE BAPTISM OF THE HOLY‘SPIRIT
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, . as told by Rev. Everett .B. Parrott
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,was reaied “in an old-fashioned ,Methodist home; educated ~ C K the‘ Methodist
I ministry, and preached in Methodism ten years as pastor and evangelist. At the
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close 1 of one of the -annual Methodist Conferences, I went to my evangelistic appointment,
and started:revival meetings in a Methodist Church. ,I was getting along
nicely; and ,abobt~th end.,of.the-fir&t week felt led to open the service for an experience
,Meeting. A lady got up and ,said, ‘?I thank God. fo~sautng my soul, and
heading me of thberczllosis im its last, stages.” A man ‘ ~ose and said, “I om &ask:
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ful God . saved-me,’and
. , healed me of cancer.” 1’ -. . .. :.
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I was terribly wrought -up.. It was ,the
first time in my life I had-,heard anyone
testify. that they had been healed directly by
faith in God: I said, “Where have you Methadist
people been?” They said, “There has.been
a great revivaE‘in a neighboring city; where
many have been saved,. baptized with’ the
Holy Spirit, and healed physically:“, 1- began
immediately to investigate.‘ I went’ to the
homes of - those who had testified to being
healed-talked with. them personally-went
to their physicians and found it was amally
true. I got in my car and started to thatcneighboring
..city to learn more. I passed a little
newsboy on the street, peddling his papers.
He was singing,. “I know the Lord, I know
the Lord laid His hands on me.” I looked
at the 1ittle:fellow.who seemed to know what
he was singing about, and I thought, “If the
Lord ever got near enough to me to lay His
hand on,,me, I don’t know what I would do:”
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. I was in such’ a hurry to learn .more I stopped
at the first Church I came to, as ,I entered
that neighboring city. It was a Preshyterian
Church. I walked up to the Manse.and
rang the doorbell. The minister came to the
door. After introducing myself, I said, ,“Brother,
I hear you hav e... had a great, revival in
your city.”,He said,’“That is true.” I said, “I
hear many people were saved, and many were
physically ’ healed.” He said, ‘:That is ‘true;
many of the members of my“’Church were
healed in the .revival.” I said, “Brother, where
is that .evahgelist, and where :is he going to
hold .his next .meeting?”
The minister very obligingly told me in detail.
I thanked him. I told MIS. Parrott we’
would .cancel -all our evangelistic engagements
and go to that revival meeting. If. anybody
else had any more of God tban we had,
we were candidates- for more. Didn’t the Bible
say, “God is no respecter of perstiris?”
We started. for that meeting-arrived on a
cold, dark, rainy Monday night. The meetings
were held in a large Public Auditorium,
seating some thousands. The place was packed
out; and hundreds were standing on the
outside in’ the rain, unable to get in. I had
my note paper in my pocket and my pencil
well ‘sharpened.“Let that evangelist make one
unscripturd statement and I‘ll get him.. Haven’t
I preached from-this Bible for ten years?’.’ But
my first problem was how.to get inside. The
custodian of th-e building, an old friend of
mine, was standing in the doorway, looking
out over the crowd that couldn’t get in, when
he saw us and\,said, “Why Brother Parrott,
bring, Mrs. Parrott and come in. There is always
room for a minister.” That is how we
got in.
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My custodian friend urged us to go to the
sectibn reserved for ministers. I said, “No, we
will enjoy the meeting much more right here,”
and we crowded in a seat ju-st back of a lady
with a large% hat. I thought we were hidden,
when presently the evangelist came in through
the very door we had just entered. My custodian
friend grabbed the evangelist with one
hand and me with the other, and said, “Dr.,
meet the Methodist evangelist.” There I was,
face to face with the “man of the hour.” He
was so humble and kind. He said, “Bro. Parrott,
come along to the platform with me, and
pray for me while I preach.” He was so sweet
and kind, I began to think he was going to
turn the meeting over to me. I was captivated
by his humility.
If my.superiors in my Church could have
drawn a crowd on a bright Sunday morning
as large as this man had on a cold, rainy, dark
Monday night, they would have brushed past
me, not even glancing in my direction. Excusing
myself, I remained in the back. The
evangelist went to the platform and began
his sermon. He preached an hour and fifteen
minutes. His sermon was simple. His message
was the plain gospeI, clear as a bell from
beginning to end. Nothing profound-nothing
complex, just the simpIe story of the Man of
Galilee, who had lost none of His matchless
power. ~
There I sat, note paper and pencil in hand,
unable to find a single objection. I discovered
immediately the only difference between his
theology and mine was, he actually believed
his, and I did not believe mine. I believed
the Bible, but it was only a head belief.
I attended the meetings continually. The
evangelist announced he was going to pray for
the sick on a certain night. There they were,
on stretchers, in wheel chairs. on crutches,
with braces and bandages; aU manner of
sickness and disease. It looked as it must have
looked at the Pool of Bethesda. The evangelist
said, “We are going to have a great Divine
healing service here tonight.” I thought,
“Brother, we had better have one.”
The first person he selected to pray, “the
prayer of faith” for was a lady with a large
goitre. The goitre was so large it could easily
*be seen from the back gallery. I thought:
“Why did he have to select such an outstanding
case for the first one, why not pray for
someone whose sickness could not be seen?”
I hid my face in my hands and did not
look up until I heard the minister say, ‘Thank
God, this goitre is melting under the mighty
Dower of God.” I saw it disappearing like a toy
balloon‘that had been punctured by a pin. I
Rev. Purroft
A man greatly used in past years in tbe
Ministry of Heding.
don’t believe there was a dry eye in the
place as the thdusands praised God. And from
miracle to miracle, as the revival continued, I
observed everything that was said and done.
One night, approximately two hundred high
school boys and girls crowded into the back
gallery. Before that service was dismissed 1
saw those boys and girls make their way
down to I the altar, surrendering their lives
to Christ.
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those boys and girls are the leading evangelists,
pastors, and missionaries today.) When I
left the meeting that night I said, “I don’t
care what anybody says, this is God.”
I followed the meeting for an entire month,
and was so busy helping other people get
saved, I forgot about myself. It bad not
dawned upon me that God wanted to do something
for me.
One afternoon as I was sitting in the
preachers’ row, suddenly, and entirely unexpected,
I saw Jesus, my risen Lord. He
came directly toward me. No one else seemed
to see Him. His beautiful, nail-pierced hand
touched my shoulder. His IoveIy piercing eyes
penetrated my soul. He said, “I want you to
receive the Baptism with the Holy-Spirit.’’
1 am not given to emotion, but the sight
of my risen Lord broke my heart. I wept Like
a child. Z must ham sobbed loudly, for 1
disturbed the preacher. He turned to me and
asked, “What is the matter with you, Pawott?”
L re#lied, “Dr. I have wasted ten years of my
life by trying to preach without the Holy
Sphit.“ He said, ‘Thank God, you don’t have
to waste any more.” I ricshed to the altar in the
gresence of some thousands of people. I wornised
God I wouZd do anything, if He would
only giue me the Baptism with the Holy
Spirit. I told God 1 worild give up my call to
the ministry and go out and sweep the streets
for a living if only He would give me the desire
of my heQrt; but 1 refused to contintre
withozrt the Holy Spirit.
I waited on God, day and night. One morning
in a prayer meeting, about ten o’clock, the
fire of God began to fall‘and God baptized
me with the Holy Spirit-an experience that
not only transformed my life,abut my entire
ministry. Since then, I have been able to see
more SOUIS saved during a four-week revival
than in all those ten years previous.
Friends, I would rather part with life itself
than to part with what God did for me
when He baptized me with the Holy Spirit.
THE .VOICE OF‘,HEALING’ April, 1952